September 3, 2023
Summer Worship
Worship at 9:30 am

Presiding Minister: Pastor Tim Keyl

Assisting Minister: Blair Goodlin

Lectors: Marietta Meyer & Tyler Fair

Altar Guild: Susan Berube

Livestream: Miles Kirschner

Tellers: Rachelle Goto & Elaine Ramshaw

Ushers: Rebecca Lerud

Bread Baker: Lee Family

Coffee Set-Up: Richard Ford

Organist & Music Director: Isaac Lee

Cantor: Maggie Astrup

Worship Livestream

We stream Sunday worship services live on Bethesda’s YouTube Channel. Join us live at 9:30 am every Sunday or watch the recording afterward.

Click here to access this Sunday's bulletin.

Coming Up at Bethesda

From the Pastor

A little bit about Hospitality

We welcome questions

All means all

At this time of year, when people are in all manner of transitions from students to those new to New Haven, we tend to see first-time visitors on Sunday mornings.  Bethesda is known to be a hospitable congregation. We have been blessed with a variety of strangers who have become friends. We welcome people from all genders and all places. In the communities that practice radical hospitality, we seek to discover Christ in all those whom we meet.

In our travels this past summer on sabbatical, Kari and I were often surprised at the kindness of strangers, even from the reportedly “rude to strangers” French. Elevators and escalators at many metro subway stops were scarce, and when we were lugging our full-size suitcases, Kari in particular was relieved when someone stepped in to carry her case up the stairs for her. As I used my rusty French language skills in a restaurant, the servers were very patient and often met my stilted order with a reply in English (did they hear an accent?).  It seems that we were able to discover Christ in those small ways, in France.

In our return to fall activity, in our seeking to build a genuine and authentic community of faith, I want to say that we make no assumptions about who arrives to participate with us. We welcome questions of any kind, from directions to the bathroom to what Christ means to us. We welcome all people who enter into our midst, whether they look like us or act like us, whether they follow along with the bulletin or whether they struggle. We are stronger when we are together. And when we day we welcome all, we mean all.

When you are at Bethesda on Sundays, extend yourselves by initiating a conversation, introducing yourself and being curious about those you meet. Make an invitation out loud to follow you to fellowship hour, invite them to come again next week, and introduce those you meet to others. Build relationships without expectation, and open to surprises. Be prepared to say something you love about where you live, where you worship, and say how nice it is to meet. Our community will be ever changed with those that begin to call Bethesda home.

-Pastor Tim Keyl

When hospitality is a way of life, the strangers and guests we welcome seem to become increasingly diverse. A life that is open to surprise and contingency has room for the refugee family family and the elderly woman down the street recovering from surgery. The door is open to the teenager with developmental disabilities and to the student with questions about life’s meaning and purpose. The hospitable church finds room for the homeless man and for the family who has just arrived from a distant state. Obviously, as finite persons, there are limits to how much we do, but welcoming different kinds of strangers usually equips us to open the door wider and more often, with less fear and more confidence.

–from Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition,  Christine D. Pohl (Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, © 1999), p. 103. (from Pastor Keyl’s sabbatical reading list)

Monthly CCA Need Update

Christian Community Action (CCA) is requesting Bethesda donate the following items:

 - Canned goods
 - Ramen noodle soup.

CCA's Director of Administration and Planning, Charmain Yun, says everything Bethesda sends is always helpful and sends gratitude.

Former Vicar, Kurt, Is Getting Ordained at BLC!

We are thrilled to host the luncheon following Kurt's ordination. We are looking for volunteers to help serve the luncheon and/or make a salad or dessert. If you can help, please contact Natalie Judd [email protected]  or 203-605-9515

Fall Fantastic Feast

Fall Fantastic Feast is Sunday, September 10 beginning with 9:30 am worship and followed by a cookout and potluck outdoors (weather permitting)

New England Synod Bishop Jim Hazelwood will be our guest and preacher for this year's Fall Fantastic Feast. On that Sunday, we will offer blessing for new staff and Bethesda's ministries.

Following worship, we will eat a shared meal with grilled items at Bethesda's paved circles. You are invited to bring food to share.

Volunteers are invited to set-up and clean up, staff the tables of food, and work the grill.

Council Corner Sept. 2023

At the August Council meeting we welcomed back Pastor Keyl and received reports outlining our many vibrant ministries, especially Learning as we begin a new academic year. We rejoice with Pastor Kurt and are grateful to host his ordination on September 2.

We also received reports of increased and ongoing repairs throughout the summer, further taxing our staff and finances.

As a reminder, we historically approve a deficit budget and this year we predict that that deficit will need to be covered by funds from principal rather than earnings in our invested funds.

We continue to encourage Bethesda members and friends to contribute to the Bethesda’s Sustainable Future Fund to pay back our Mission Investment Fund Loan.

We voted unanimously to decline the second offer from Partners for Sacred Places to engage in their strategic visioning product, and to not pay the remaining balance from the feasibility study due to their failure to deliver in a timely manner according to the contract.

We are buoyed and hopeful for an opportunity to enter into a partnership with IRIS as a way to be able to continue our ministries in this place.  

The council is grateful for your continued prayers and we invite your questions and suggestions at any time.

Ice Cream Social Ends the Summer and Launches the Fall

Once again, Bethesda reached out to our neighbors with a sweet treat! The annual ice cream social welcomed well over 100 people on Sunday, August 27. Four of Ashley's best flavors and many toppings were served, accompanied by homemade brownies, cookies, and cantaloupe, all offered on the St Ronan Street circle drive.

Bethesda House residents -- Tyler Fair, Charissa Lee, Joy Phillips, Rachel Pinti, Rebekka Plasger, and Hannah Vase -- did the scooping honors with help from Mya Ibrahim. Chris Lee's accomplished jazz ensemble -- Dave Arezzini, Dave Daddario, Richard Ford, and Greta Lee -- performed for the appreciative audience, and Carl Arezzini added his vocal talent. Laura Wright's violin students played before enjoying their own scoops.

Thank you to Dianne Witte and Richard Ford for coordinating this fun event; and to the staff and many volunteers who scooped, baked, performed and helped with set-up and clean-up! Bethesda is grateful as well to Thrivent for financial support for the event.

Blessing of Backpacks and for the New School Year Sunday,
September 3, during Worship

Bring your selves, your backpacks, your computer, or a sign of your involvement in education. At the end of worship, blessings for a new school year will be offered for students, teachers, and staff of various kinds for all types of schools.

Call to join the choir!

The Bethesda choir is open to all who love to worship and sing! We meet on Thursdays at 7pm in the choir room. No audition is required but musical training is appreciated. We are committed to learning, improving, and growing as a community.

Whether you are new to the church or a seasoned congregant, I encourage you to take the plunge and lend your voice to enhance our collective worship experience. Instrumentalists are also welcome to offer your musical talents.

The first Thursday of every month is our “Join-the-choir” welcome session. Do drop by and try it out for a night. No commitment required. Come and meet kindred spirits who share a love for music!

For more information or queries, please write to Isaac Lee, Music Director, at [email protected] 

Regards,
Isaac

We Need Volunteers for September

Email administrative assistant, Tyler Fair ([email protected]) to volunteer for needed roles!

The following roles need filled for September 10th: two readers, altar guild, two tellers, livestream, and coffee hour set-up

1 in 3 families in Connecticut struggles to provide clean diapers for their baby... One in three.

The Diaper Bank of Connecticut provides clean diapers as well as period supplies and incontinence products to families in our state each week. We can help!

Bethesda will be participating in the ELCA “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Sunday on September 10 along with Lutheran churches nationwide. We will be collecting diapers, period supplies, and incontinence products that day to deliver to the Diaper Bank in North Haven. Please bring your donated items to church - any size, any brand - or make a donation (checks may be written to Bethesda with The Diaper Bank in the memo line). This is a one day only drive - so mark your calendars and update your shopping lists! Diapers on September 10! God’s work. Our Hands.

Pastoral Care

For pastoral care, contact Pastor Keyl at (603) 533-7537 or [email protected]

Prayer Requests

 - For healing and strength: Ray Bussolini; Paul Denardis, stepson of Gail Denardis; Mariza Horita; John Ferreira, nephew of Chris Couture; George Arndt, father of Lynn Arezzini; Marie Gray; Sonja Krummrey; Maureen Anderson; Shirley Farm; Anne and Lee Keck; Kay Leone; Molly Dinneen; Matthew H., cousin of Tyler Fair

 - For our partners in the Gospel: the congregations and schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) and LuMin Campus Ministry; for Bethesda House and Yale Divinity School students.

 - For our Ecumenical Partners Worldwide: We pray for Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo. The Ecumenical Prayer Cycle takes us through every region of the world over the course of a year.

 - For Bethesda New Haven: that God continues to guide us into the future with ministries of witness, service, hospitality, and care while building up our community in all its diversity.

 - For those in candidacy or seeking candidacy for rostered leadership in the ELCA: Natalie Benson, Tyler Fair, Calli Micale, Tim Bergeland